


A Deep, Foreign Feeling

by annabeth_in_olympus



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, an ocean of space, percabeth, percabeth angst, percabeth baby - Freeform, percabeth fight, percabeth pregnant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-06 02:57:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21219437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annabeth_in_olympus/pseuds/annabeth_in_olympus
Summary: Percy and Annabeth find out they're pregnant and don't react well. Short, oneshot prequel to An Ocean of Space.





	A Deep, Foreign Feeling

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very short prequel scene to An Ocean of Space, as per a tumblr request. An Ocean of Space is an AU--this is NOT how I believe they'd react normally. This can be read before or after An Ocean of Space; you don't need to read that first.

Percy’s phone started buzzing for the second time. The screen, once again, said _Annabeth._ It was noisy in the bar, where he’d met co-workers for after-work drinks. The first time he’d have had to go outside to take the call; he’d planned to wait for a lull in the conversation. But now they were leaving, milling on the sidewalk deciding where to go next, as she called again. 

He moved a little apart from the others. “Hey. Sorry, I—” 

“Where are you?” Her voice was strained. 

“Still at the thing—” He lowered his voice. “Is something wrong?” 

She’d been a little distant the last couple days, preoccupied. He hadn’t thought too much of it. 

“I need you to come home, and I need you to stop at the store.” 

He heaved a sigh, running a hand through his hair. He could feel more than one pair of eyes on him—he was young to have a wife, especially one that called and demanded him home early in the evening. 

He dropped his voice further. “Is it important? Because—” 

“Percy. I _need_ you.” 

He frowned. “What—?” He glanced around at the others. “What do you need me to get?” 

“A pregnancy test.” 

_Jesus Christ._ A brick weight fell through his stomach as he took several strides away from the group, hoping they hadn’t heard. 

“Shit. Annabeth. Are you serious?” 

“Yes.” 

He stared down the street, not noticing anything, stress knotting into his muscles. “But—” 

“Percy. Just do it. Just come home.” 

He hesitated a long moment, his mind reeling. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll see you soon.”  
.  
.  
.  
Annabeth knotted her arms across her chest, leaning against the bathroom wall and closing her eyes. The little stick was sitting on the counter, and five minutes, it transpired, was the equivalent of a lifetime. 

Percy was pacing outside the open door. She could feel the stress radiating from him, and it exhausted her. No, she didn’t want this either—it wasn’t the right time, it was too soon, they weren’t ready—but at least they were in it together. And they couldn’t control it; it would be what it would be. 

“How could this _happen?”_ He’d asked. “I thought—” 

“Percy, I don’t _know,_ but there’s no birth control that’s one hundred percent—” 

“Gods.” He’d scrubbed a hand over his face. “I can’t believe this is happening.” 

“We don’t know that anything’s happening yet!” She’d thrown up her hands. “Not only are you being really dramatic, but you are really fucking stressing me out, right now.” 

He’d exhaled, then folded her into his arms, his body tense. “Sorry. I’m just surprised. It’s going to be okay. It might not even be true.” 

But now he was patrolling the hall, too wound up to keep still, his hands laced behind his head. 

She knew the time was up. She knew and she could barely look. She just had…a feeling. It wasn’t the first time she’d ever had a pregnancy scare, but it was the first time that—knowing her body as she did—she really, deep down, already knew that it was true. 

After a minute, she walked calmly into the hallway, holding out the test for Percy to see. The results were clear, and it was what it was. They were what they were. 

Pregnant. 

Percy took one look—and wheeled around, heading straight for the kitchen. He took a beer from the fridge and sat down, staring at the wall. 

Annabeth stood in the doorway, still holding the test. “Um, hello?” 

Percy looked at her. “What do you want me to say?” 

She stared at him, and then something snapped. She marched over and grabbed the beer, slamming it down on the counter. 

“You do _not_ get to shut me out, right now.” Her voice, full of anger, only thinly masked the tears. “This is not something that’s only happening to you.” 

“I never said—” 

“You’ve barely said _anything,_ since you walked in the door! How do you think I’m feeling?” 

He looked at her. “I don’t know. How’re you feeling?” 

But his voice was all wrong. He didn’t really want to know. 

She didn’t answer, and the silence in the room grew thick and buzzing. 

How _was_ she feeling? Terrified, for one. Confused. Upset. But…there was something else, too. Something entirely new and alien. Separate from all the times she’d thought about having kids, or even when she’d been scared she was pregnant in the past. A deep, foreign feeling both steely and tender; the sense of being needed, connected. Of being chosen.

It was so fast, but it was there. One moment the whole idea was theoretical, and the next, it was heartbreakingly real. There was a little being already growing inside her. It had chosen _her._ She would get a chance to be it’s mother. Even at this very moment, she was giving it life; something no one else could do. 

“Why are you so calm?” Percy’s voice cut through the kitchen, thick with something close to disgust. “I don’t—”

Annabeth burst into tears. 

He scraped back his chair, heaving a big sigh, which just made it that much worse. 

“Stop.” She pushed him away. “This isn’t—I’m not—” She drew a shuddering breath. “This isn’t how this is supposed to go!” 

There was genuine confusion in his eyes. “Annabeth…I don’t understand. I thought—you were always the one who didn’t want kids. You said not until we’re like, thirty…” 

She brandished the test in his face, crying harder. “Well, it’s a little t-too late! Who cares what I s-said? It’s _too late!”_

“Annabeth…” 

She pulled out of his reach, dropping the test on the table as she went for the doorway, scrubbing her sleeve over her face. Percy followed her down the hall. 

She reached the bathroom and slammed the door, locking it behind her. 

“Annabeth…” He said again, clearly right on the other side. “Please open the door.” 

Whether it was the hormones or just raw, pent up emotion, she couldn’t stop crying. She also couldn’t get his disgusted tone or angered face out of her mind. 

“Babe…look, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t…” He sighed. “If you’re happy about it…will you just talk to me? Please open the door, Annabeth…” 

She slid down the door to sit against the floor, her eyes squeezed shut. He only felt bad for making her cry; she knew he still didn’t care about the new life that she’d become radically, screamingly aware of. He didn’t feel chosen. It was something special, unique. Sacred. If he wasn’t going to come inside her bubble, she wasn’t going to let him burst it.

He tried the door again, sighing. “Will you just tell me that you’re okay? Don’t make me break this doorknob, seriously Annabeth.” 

And then she stood, wiping her tears, and opened the door. Whoever she was, it wasn’t someone who hid in the bathroom forever. 

He was disarmed by her sudden appearance, taking a step back. 

“We’re having this baby.” She said calmly, looking him in the eye. “And you can tell me when you’re ready to deal with that.” 

He looked back at her, reading her expression. His eyes were fathomless in that moment. And then they tightened as he swallowed, but as long as she waited, he didn’t speak. 

And when she brushed past him to walk away, he didn’t follow.

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me what you think! If you haven't read it, you can find the MUCH longer angsty story that follows a few years after this scene: An Ocean of Space.


End file.
